Sherbrooke is known among many New Englanders as the closest city where one can legally buy codeine at the pharmacy without a prescription (Google “Tylenol 1” and “AC&C” for more information). Also, since Québec’s drinking age is 18, many northern New England youth frequent Sherbrooke’s pubs and clubs.

The Eastern Townships are similar in topography to nearby New Hampshire and Vermont and, by Québec standards, a fairly large Anglophone (English-speaking) community, many of whom trace their ancestry to New England loyalists who fled north after the American Revolution.

Sherbrooke resembles a large, northern New England city, albeit with a French flair.